In the film Wrestling For Jesus, the wrestling organization WFJ used wrestling as a means of bringing people together and preaching the ideals of Christianity while trying to convert people or reinforce their faith. However the group seems to focus in on few of the actual teachings of Jesus and aspects of Christianity when spreading their message. One of the most intriguing aspects of the film was when Matt was telling the audience about his award of “Most Christ-like” and when asked what it meant, he could not answer the question because he had no idea what it represented. At the end of the film, we learned that WFJ had folded and Timothy (AKA T-Money) had given up on his mission to spread the word of Christ through wrestling. However, after a few months’ hiatus, WFJ and another wrestling group that had competed against WFJ had joined and were holding wrestling matches for purely entertainment purposes. The Christian message and altar calls after the match are no longer present and it makes me wonder about the importance of Christianity in Timothy and the other wresters’ lives; especially after we watched how he was going to dedicate himself to “serving the Lord”.
The other articles bring up the question of true Christian morals. In Krattenmaker’s article, he states that if anyone were to offer “any suggestion that religion…might become more ecumenical, more open to the different faiths and worldviews…the answer today for the most part, is ‘no’” (25-26). On the Athletes in Action website they state that their message is to “boldly proclaim the love and truth of Jesus Christ to every college athlete in the U.S. and the millions they influence.” These statements both support the thought that evangelicals in sports, like most evangelicals, believe that conservative Christianity is the “right” religion and that there is no other way to believe. I feel that this is wrong, not just in my opinion, but also in Christian doctrine itself.
Personally I have no issues with the convergence of Christianity and athletics. Athletic events and athletes are great mediums in order to spread a message and do have a great amount of influence over a large amount of people. The issue I have the most trouble with is the narrow-mindedness of evangelicals in not accepting the fact that people also practice other faiths. To use Tim Tebow as an example again, if he were a Muslim who prayed towards Mecca and to Allah instead of a Christian, would he be nearly as popular as he is today? Who knows.
The other articles bring up the question of true Christian morals. In Krattenmaker’s article, he states that if anyone were to offer “any suggestion that religion…might become more ecumenical, more open to the different faiths and worldviews…the answer today for the most part, is ‘no’” (25-26). On the Athletes in Action website they state that their message is to “boldly proclaim the love and truth of Jesus Christ to every college athlete in the U.S. and the millions they influence.” These statements both support the thought that evangelicals in sports, like most evangelicals, believe that conservative Christianity is the “right” religion and that there is no other way to believe. I feel that this is wrong, not just in my opinion, but also in Christian doctrine itself.
Personally I have no issues with the convergence of Christianity and athletics. Athletic events and athletes are great mediums in order to spread a message and do have a great amount of influence over a large amount of people. The issue I have the most trouble with is the narrow-mindedness of evangelicals in not accepting the fact that people also practice other faiths. To use Tim Tebow as an example again, if he were a Muslim who prayed towards Mecca and to Allah instead of a Christian, would he be nearly as popular as he is today? Who knows.
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